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"If you're wondering how the chief legal advisor to the government would have either the time or the inclination to host a hunt, you wouldn't be alone! Perhaps Brexit is getting a bit much for him.

"We have sabbed the Lamerton here on a previous occasion, when Geoffrey Cox was a mere MP for Torridge and West Devon, so we had a pretty good idea of where to position ourselves ahead of the meet."

A bull apparently charging towards members of the Lamerton Hunt (Image: Devon County Hunt Saboteurs)

The saboteurs say they managed to cover the tracks of four foxes which they spotted, meaning the hounds were unable to follow their scent.

They went on: "They drew the valley between Foghanger and Longbrook Farm, where a frisky bull calf took a disliking to one of the terrier quad bikes and chased it out of his field before head-butting the quad, which was quite comical to watch.

What's the law on fox hunting in the UK?

Isn't hunting illegal?

The ban on hunting wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales was implemented in the Hunting Act 2004.

What does the law say?

Under the HA 2004, a person will commit an offence if s/he hunts a wild mammal. Rats and rabbits are excluded from the remit of the legislation, and a hare may be hunted by any number of dogs if it has been shot.

All offences defined by HA 2004 are punishable by a fine of up to £5,000. Dogs, vehicles and equipment used in a hunting offence may be confiscated and, if deemed appropriate, destroyed.

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What is meant by hunting?

A person will be deemed to be hunting if s/he engages or participates in the pursuit of a wild mammal and one or more dogs are employed in that pursuit – whether the dogs are employed by him/her or whether or not they are under his/her control is an issue which needs to be examined.

(Image: Paula Davies)

How do hunts still take place then?

Far from dying out, the process of hunting has prospered, with some 45,000 people regularly taking part and 250,000 turning out across the country for Boxing Day meets.

Officially these are "drag hunts", where hounds follow a chemical trail laid across the countryside, or "trail hunts", where the hunt's path loops and overlaps to simulate unpredictable vulpine meanderings. Yet it would be wrong to say that hunting is now a bloodless sport, because some foxes are still pursued to their deaths.

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How are foxes or other animals still killed during hunts?

If, during a drag or trail hunt, a hound picks up a nearby fox's scent and they kill it, the huntsman can say they're not breaking the law because the hounds were not told to.

One official exemption lets hunters use a full pack of dogs to “flush” the fox towards a bird of prey – so many hunts across the country now carry eagles or owls along with them.

(Image: Paula Davies)

Will I be liable under HA 2004 if I allow fox hunting to happen on my land?

If someone knowingly permits land which belongs to him/her to be entered or used for banned hunting purposes, they will be guilty of the offence of assisting hunting under HA 2004.

Has HA 2004 been a success in preventing fox hunting in the UK?

There have been over 430 successful prosecutions under HA 2004, but many campaigners, however, complain that the law is confusing and is aimed at prosecuting people, rather than in protecting animal rights.

But the figure may seem low, and lower still when you consider that the Countryside Alliance says that only 24 of those cases involved members of registered hunts.

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Perhaps it’s no surprise: when the legislation came into force, senior police chiefs themselves warned that the ban would be unenforceable, and the CA warned then that the police had been “placed in an impossible situation”.

Hunting does continue throughout the UK within the parameters of the law; huntsmen often now shoot the foxes instead of allowing the dogs to kill them, which is not a criminal act under HA 2004.

What are the arguments FOR hunting?

(Image: Paula Davies)

The case that hunting with dogs is not ethically wrong usually includes some of these points:

Being hunted by other animals is a natural part of the life of wild animals

Hunting with dogs provides a very quick death - quicker and more painless than the death that many animals would otherwise get

Animals are not left injured - they either escape or are killed

Hunting is necessary to protect agriculture and the environment from animal pests or overpopulation

Hunting is as humane, or more humane, than other methods of controlling wild animal populations